Widger's goal finishes Mohawk

Friday

Oct 28, 2011 at 12:01 AMOct 28, 2011 at 5:29 PM

Emily Widger saw the goal and her eyes got wide.

“Yeah, I thought this will make or break the game,” Widger said.

She made the game. Widger finished off a Jessie Murray pass for the game-winning goal in the second half and the Morrisville-Eaton girls soccer team defeated Mohawk 2-1 in a Section III Class C-2 quarterfinal game on Thursday.

Anne Delaney

Emily Widger saw the goal and her eyes got wide.

“Yeah, I thought this will make or break the game,” Widger said.

She made the game. Widger finished off a Jessie Murray pass for the game-winning goal in the second half and the Morrisville-Eaton girls soccer team defeated Mohawk 2-1 in a Section III Class C-2 quarterfinal game on Thursday.

With the victory, seventh-seeded Morrisville-Eaton (10-7) advanced past its opening sectional game for the first time in program history. The Warriors face No. 3 Bishop Grimes (13-4) in a Saturday semifinal at a time and place to be determined.

“It’s awesome for Morrisville-Eaton,” said Warriors’ coach Duane LeBlanc, in his first full year with the girls after seven seasons with the boys.

Murray scored Morrisville’s first goal to tie the game with 23:58 remaining in the second half, about five minutes before she set up Widger’s game winner with a crossing pass – a “beautiful” ball to use Widger’s description - from the right side of the field.

It almost wasn’t a happy ending for Morrisville, who were dominated by the second-seeded Mohicans (12-3-2) for much of the first half on a cold and wet night at Lower Tolpa Field.

The saturated field was as much a part of the game as the players, who couldn’t rely on the surface to deliver the ball over long distances. More often than not, the ball died with a splash before reaching its intended target.

“We were a little shocked,” Widger said of the field. “We’re used to mud and not water. Once we got used to it, we put it together.”

The Warriors needed the first half to get their swamp legs under them. In the meantime, Mohawk managed to control the run of play in the first 40 minutes and unofficially outshot Mohawk 6-3.

The Mohicans finally put in a goal late in the first half – with some help from Mother Nature.

Johana Cusworth scored with 3:29 left on a ball that slipped past Morrisville keeper Kimmi Horton. Horton had 10 saves. Alicia Ceneviva had five for Mohawk, which also had decisive advantage in corner kicks (6-2).

“In the first half, I felt like we could’ve had three or four more goals,” said Mohawk coach Michele Tolpa. “The water was like a third or fourth defender.”

This season scoring goals has been a challenge for Mohawk, which showed a good open-field possession game and set up multiple chances in the first half.

“I still think we dominated the entire game,” Tolpa said. “We couldn’t find the back of the net. That’s been an issue with Mohawk. It haunts us.”

Morrisville, though, came out like a different team in the second half. Tolpa said the Warriors’ defense adjusted to the speed of Mohawk forward Nicole Landry and played back, denying the Mohicans’ through passes.

A change of scenery for the Morrisville offense might have been the bigger reason. In the second half, Morrisville was shooting on the goal at the north end of the field – where the Warriors allowed the goal in the first and LeBlanc liked his team’s chances for a turnaround because of the wet field.

“That goal is so hard to defend,” the coach said, pointing to the net where Cusworth scored. “Once we got in there, within 18-20 yards I felt like we could get closer because it was a mosh pit.”